Snow Removal That Actually Works: The Blower, the Heated Mats, and the Walkway That Never Ices Over

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The short answer

Here are the snow setup pieces that actually work, in four parts:

Best snow blower (battery): EGO Power+ SNT2405, about $1,600. 24-inch two-stage, no gas, no pull cord, throws snow 50 feet.
Best snow blower (gas): Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO, about $1,800 at a dealer. 28 inches, 306cc, built for wet snow and plow piles.
Walkway and stairs, no shoveling: HeatTrak Starter Kit, $499.95. One walkway mat, two stair mats, power unit included. Melts snow on contact.
Driveway tire tracks: HeatTrak Driveway Mat, about $1,075 direct from HeatTrak. Lays on the driveway, plugs into an outdoor outlet, no installation.

The blower handles the driveway. The mats handle the parts you walk on. Together they cover the whole property, and the mats cover the part that can cost you the most.

The most expensive snow on your property is the ice on your walkway

I adjust claims after winter storms, and the slip-and-fall is the claim homeowners never see coming. A delivery driver, a guest, a neighbor cutting across your walk steps on black ice on your front steps, falls, and breaks a wrist. That is a liability claim against your homeowners policy, and it starts on your own property.

Your driveway snow is an inconvenience. Your icy walkway is a liability. Most New Jersey towns require sidewalks cleared within a set time after snowfall, and the duty to keep your walk safe does not end at the property line. A shovel works when you are home, awake, and able. A heated mat works at 3 a.m. while you sleep, and it works when you are away for the weekend. That is the whole case for it.

Why a two-stage blower, not a single-stage

A single-stage blower has one auger that scoops and throws in one motion. It works on light snow on a small paved driveway. New Jersey snow is usually wet and heavy, and the plow leaves a frozen pile at the end of your driveway that a single-stage cannot chew through.

A two-stage blower has an auger that breaks up the snow and an impeller that throws it. It handles wet snow, deep snow, and the plow pile. It costs more, and it is the right machine for a New Jersey winter. If your driveway is short and you get light snow, a single-stage battery blower for about $700 does the job. For everyone else, buy a two-stage.

1. EGO Power+ SNT2405, about $1,600: the battery blower that replaced gas

The EGO Power+ SNT2405 is a 24-inch two-stage snow blower that runs on two 56-volt batteries, and it is the best overall snow blower you can buy right now. 24-inch clearing width, 20-inch intake height, throws snow up to 50 feet, and EGO says it clears an 18-car driveway with 8 inches of snow on one charge with the included 7.5Ah batteries. Variable-speed self-propelled drive, forward and reverse, LED headlights, and a 5-year tool warranty with a 3-year battery warranty.

The case for battery is the same as the case for a battery power station: no gas, no oil, no pull cord, no carburetor gumming up over the summer, no trips to the gas station, and it starts with a button in sub-zero weather. It is quiet enough to run at 6 a.m. without waking the street. The limit is runtime: in very heavy wet snow, the batteries drain faster, and a second set of batteries costs real money. For a normal suburban driveway in New Jersey, one charge covers the storm.

One warning: prices on Amazon vary by seller, and third-party sellers sometimes list this machine well above the $1,649 list price. Check the seller and the live price before you buy.

2. Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO, about $1,800: the gas workhorse

The Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO is the gas answer, and it has been the answer for years. 28-inch clearing width, a 306cc Ariens AX engine, throws snow up to 55 feet, moves about 72 tons of snow per hour, with Auto-Turn steering, electric start, a cast iron gear case, and a 3-year warranty. The SHO stands for Super High Output, and it earns it on the plow pile at the end of the driveway, which is where cheaper machines stall.

Buy it from a dealer if you can. The dealer price is about $1,700 to $1,800, and it includes setup, a first service, and someone to call when it will not start in January. On Amazon it runs about $2,099 through a third-party seller, and Amazon itself is not the seller right now. The machine is the same either way. The dealer price is better, and the service is worth more than the difference.

Gas still wins in two cases: a long driveway, and wet snow that comes down for hours. A gas machine runs as long as the tank has fuel. A battery machine runs until the batteries are empty. If your driveway is big or your storms are long, buy the Ariens.

3. HeatTrak Starter Kit, $499.95: the walkway that clears itself

The HeatTrak Starter Kit is one walkway mat, two stair mats, a power unit, and a cable extender, for $499.95. You lay the mats on the walkway and the steps, plug the power unit into an outdoor GFCI outlet, and they melt snow on contact at about 2 inches per hour. Each mat costs about 15 cents an hour to run, which works out to roughly 60 to 90 cents per snow day. They work down to minus 8 degrees.

The mats connect to each other, so you can build a path from the door to the driveway with extra walkway and stair mats. The walkway mat is 20 by 60 inches, about $125, and the stair mat is 10 by 30 inches, about $50. Buy the starter kit first, because the mats sold on their own do not include the power unit, and the kit has everything in the box.

What the mats replace is not just shoveling. They replace salt, which eats concrete and kills the grass at the edge of the walk, and they replace the 6 a.m. shovel before work and the second shovel after the plow comes through. They also replace the ice that forms when you shovel the snow off but leave a thin layer that freezes overnight. That thin layer is the one people slip on.

4. HeatTrak Driveway Mat, about $1,075: tire tracks, no digging

The driveway mat is the bigger version of the same idea: a heated mat that lays on the driveway where your tires go, plugs into an outdoor outlet, and keeps the tire tracks clear. About $1,075 direct from HeatTrak for the standard mat. No installation, no contractor, no excavation.

Compare that with an in-ground heated driveway system, which runs $5,000 to $25,000 installed and needs a contractor, permits, and a torn-up driveway. The mat does the same job for the part of the driveway you actually drive on, at a fraction of the price, and you can roll it up and store it in the spring. If your whole driveway needs to be bare, the in-ground system is the answer. If your tire tracks need to be bare, the mat is.

What else belongs in the kit

Two things from the ice-dam work, because snow on the roof and snow on the ground are the same storm:

A roof rake, for pulling snow off the roof edge before it becomes an ice dam. The Snow Joe rake is already in the ice-dam article.
A heated roof cable, for the gutters and the roof edge where ice dams form. The HEATIT cable is already in the ice-dam article.

And one cheap thing that matters: calcium chloride ice melt, not rock salt. Rock salt damages concrete and kills plants. Calcium chloride works at lower temperatures and is easier on the walkway. The pucks are already in the ice-dam article. Use the melt on the spots the mats do not cover, and use it before the storm, not after the ice has already formed.

The insurance angle, in plain terms

Three winter claims I see every year, and what prevents each one:

Slip-and-fall on your walkway. Your homeowners liability coverage responds when someone is hurt on your property, but a claim still costs you: the deductible does not apply to liability the way it does to property damage, but the claim goes on your record, and a second one can change your rates or your renewal. The heated mat is prevention that works while you are asleep. If someone does fall, photograph the walkway, the ice, and the weather before anything is cleared, and get the person’s name and contact information. Documentation decides these claims.
Ice dams and roof snow load. Snow that sits on the roof melts, refreezes at the edge, and backs water under the shingles. The roof rake and the heated cable from the ice-dam article are the prevention. A roof that has never been cleared in a heavy winter is the claim that gets fought as maintenance.
Frozen pipes. A house that loses heat in a storm freezes pipes, and a burst pipe claim gets fought as neglect when a home was left without heat. The power station posts cover keeping the furnace blower running. The winterizing article covers the faucets and the sprinklers.

Check your town’s sidewalk clearing rule, too. Most New Jersey towns set a time limit after snowfall, and a ticket is the cheapest possible version of this problem.

Bottom line

A two-stage blower for the driveway, heated mats for the parts you walk on. The EGO SNT2405 at about $1,600 is the best blower for most New Jersey driveways, and the Ariens Deluxe 28 SHO at about $1,800 from a dealer is the gas machine for big driveways and wet snow. The HeatTrak Starter Kit at $499.95 means the walkway and the steps clear themselves, and the driveway mat at about $1,075 keeps the tire tracks bare without digging up the driveway. The blower saves your back. The mats save you from the claim that starts on your own front steps.

General educational information only. Always consult a licensed professional about your specific situation.